Fall Into Autumn With Roasted Cauliflower Spaghetti

A two-fold autumn pasta that can also serve as a side dish.

September 20, 2016LIVE LOVE LUX

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With fall upon us, there’s a whole new world of vegetables and produce to work with. We’ve partnered with Sara Forte of Sprouted Kitchen to bring you recipes, ideas, and tips inspired by the new season’s harvest.

This time of year, as tomatoes and zucchini are on their way out and you’ve probably reached your personal limit of them. Reaching for things like cauliflower and dark, leafy greens is the perfect transition. They’re booming at the farmer’s market or supermarket, hearty, healthy, and transform your kitchen to suit the season.

To keep pasta dishes from feeling too heavy, incorporating a decent amount of vegetables will lighten them up, as well as add flavor. Here, cauliflower’s dense crunch takes the place of meat or other veggies.

First, the cauliflower gets seasoned and roasted, and very well could be a side dish of it’s own, but tastes great mixed into the barely-creamy noodles.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425’. Onto a rimmed baking sheet, break up the head of cauliflower into pieces, about the size of nickels and quarters, you want them somewhat small. Dress them with the oil, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Every piece should be coated, add more oil if necessary. Spread them in an even layer and roast in the upper third of the oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through, until browned and softened. Finish with the thyme leaves and set aside.

While the cauliflower roasts, make your breadcrumbs. In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the butter until toasty and fragrant. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic and saute until dried and crispy, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the parmesan, a pinch of salt and pepper and saute again until the cheese dries up and sticks, about another minute. Set aside to cool.

Cook the pasta noodles al dente in a large pot according to instructions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of the pasta water, and put the noodles back into the pot with 1/4 cup of the pasta water, the mascarpone, butter, parmesan and lemon zest and toss until everything is evenly coated. Add a little more pasta water to loosen, only if needed.

Add in the cauliflower and half of the fresh herbs and toss again. Serve each portion with a sprinkle of the breadcrumbs, more fresh herbs and walnuts, if using.